Community tool-stall



Dec. 14, 1943. F. w. JOHNSON 2,335,936

COMMUNITY TOOL STALL Y Filed oct. 1, 1941 5\ {sv 1,3 /5 f7 n ilk/ Patented Dec. 14, 1943 5 Claims.

This invention relates to community tool-stalls,

namely a stall for holding instruments which are same and which, upon an authorized removal,

retains a check upon the particular individual having the removed instrument in his or her possession. In accomplishing this end I. employ an assembly of paired locks of which the one is operated by a key carried by the community tool and of which the other is operated by any one of a plurality of differently identiiied keys supplied to the several persons authorized to use theY tool, and which assembly is characterized in that interconnection is had as between the two locks whereby the removal of a related key from its respective lock is possible only upon the insertion cf and retention of a key in the complementary lock. Stated more generally, I have provided a tool-stall in which a person authorized to remove the tool therefrom is required to insert his own key in the lock provided therefor and is thereafter precluded from withdrawing such key until the removed tool has been returned to and locked in the stall.

More particular objects and advantages, in addition to the above-stated general object, will appear in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing and hereinafter described and claimed.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view or a preferred ernbodiment of the invention having the cover plate broken away and showing some of the parts in horizontal section. Also indicated in'horizontal section in the View is the handle of a tool such as a vacuum cleaner Vhoused within the stall.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat similar view modied from Fig. l in that the users key has been inserted in the lock therefor to release the tool from its housed position.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and indicating, for purposes of illuscasing 5 suitably secured by screws or the like 6 to the Wall 'l of a cabinet, with the casing being formed to provide an inner closed lock compartment 8 and an outer open-end stall compartment 9 which has aligned openings in the top and bottom walls to permit horizontal introduction of an upright tool handle, as T. Separating the two compartments is a partitioning Wall ill.

I3 represents a locking bolt bearing against the floor and one side Wall of the casing, and having its forward end projecting from the lock compartment through a suitable slide opening in the partitioning wall into the stall compartment, this bolt being formed along the exposed edge of its inner part with longitudinally spaced notches I4 and I5 and on its outer part having a terminal toe l5 which, by a sliding movement of the bolt in a forward direction, is caused to engage over a tool-keeper. I illustrate this tool-keeper as being produced in the manner of a bell-crank working through an approximate 90 movement about a vertical fulcrum l'l, one of its two lever-arms, as I8, being swingable into and from a position whereat the same is engaged by the bolt and the other arm I8 Ibeing swingable into and out of a tool-holding position traversing the throat of the stall.

Reverting to the lock compartment, it will be Seen that I have mounted two cylinder-type locks therein. The former of these locks is denoted by 20 and is carried by the cover plate 5 of the casing to occupy a vertical position and functions by the engagement of its reciprccative finger 2li in the rear notch l5 of the locking boit to slidably operate said bolt from a normal advanced keeperengaging position (Fig. l) to a retracted keeperreleasing position as indicated in Fig. 2. The actuating key Kv-l for said lock 2t is insertable in and removable from the cylinder slot while the nger 2l!" occupies its advanced position only.

Designated by 2l, the other of such locks ts through an opening in the partitioning wall lll and is mounted such that its key slot is exposed to the stall compartment and lies horizontally on the approximate longitudinal median line of the casing, whereas the reciprccative finger 2l lies within the lock compartment for movement from and into registering relation with the forward notch l 5 of the bolt, which registration is effected only upon a retraction of the bolt by the act of turning key K-l in the lock 2t. Benet-ed by K-Z is the key for the lock 2l, such key being removable only upona lodging of linger 2i in its related notch with a resulting locking of the retracted linger 20' against forward movement.

Key K-2 is carried by the tool, being formed with an extended shank 22 which is given a swivel mounting through the tool handle and having an exposed operating knob 23 tted on the opposite end.

It may be here stated as respects the locks which I employ, that the well-known characteristic which permits the related keys to -be inserted into and removed from the locks only when the latter occupy a specific rotary position is essential to the accomplishment of myend. It is also important that my locks be of that nature in which the rotary movement is limited to less than a complete turn in order that the lock shall, when the key is removed, be in the same condition as when the key was inserted. A lock of this type is illustrated by Yale in his U. S. Pat- No. 48,475. Y

The manner of using the stall is believed to be clear, a tenant whose key is identified by 4, for example, inserting the same in the lock 2) and turning the same to retract the bolt out of engagement with the keeper. The knob 23 is then turned counter-clockwise to lodge the finger 2| in the notch i5, clearing the tumblers of the lock and permitting the handle of the tool to be withdrawn from the stall. Being held against turning movement the user is prevented from clearing the tumblers of the lock 2li and withdrawing his key, whereie-r the identity of the user is known. Following a return of the tool with an insertion of key K-Z in the lock 2l andwithdrawal of the ringer 2l out of engagement with the bolt, key K-I may be turned to free the same, which movement again locks the tool within the stall.

It is believed to be apparent that the employment of other locks than the cylinder-type disclosed is well within the spirit of the invention, and it is thought equally apparent that other modications may be resorted to. It is accordingly my intention that no limitations be implied excepting as the same are necessarily brought into the hereto annexed claims to distinguish from prior knowledge in the art.

What I claim is:

l. In a community tool-stall, in combination: a casing providing a stall for the tool; a keeper carried by the casing and movable from -an inoperative position permitting insertion of the tool into the stall to an operating position barring removal of the inserted tool from the stall; a sliding bolt arranged to be moved from a position inoperative to the keeper into an operating position whereat, upon locating the keeper in the latters last-mentioned position, the bolt locks the keeper against movement; a lock supported by the casing, having a key-slot to receive a toolcarried key, and having a locking finger acting normally in the absence of the key to lock the bolt in its inoperative position and movable by the key out of engagement with the bolt for permitting the bolt to be moved into its keeper-locking position, said lock being formed with devices movable in relative correspondence with the movement of the nger and characterized in that the same permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only when the finger is in said loclnng engagement with the bolt; and a second lock supported by the casing, arranged to be operated by a loose key, and having operative interconnection with the bolt for sliding the latter into and out of its keeper-locking position, said last-named lock being formed with devices arranged to move in relative correspondence withV the movement of said operative interconnection and characterized in that the same permit the key for such last-named lock to be inserted and removed from the lock only when the bolt has been moved into its keeper-locking position.

2. In a stall for a community tool having a key swivel-mounted thereon: the combination of a casing providing a stall for the tool; a keeper carried by the casing and movable from an inoperative position permitting insertion of the tool into the stall to a position barring removal of the inserted tool from the stall; a sliding bolt arranged to be moved from a position inoperative to the keeper into an operating position whereat, upon locating the keeper in the latters lastmentioned position, the bolt locks the keeperI against movement; a rotary lock supported by the casing, having a key slot arranged to receive the tool-carried key upon insertion of the tool into the stall, and having a locking nger acting normally in the absence of the key to lock the bolt in its inoperative position and movable by -the key out of engagement with the bolt for permitting the latter to be moved into its keeperlocking position, said lock being formed with devices movable in relative correspondence with the movement of the finger and characterized in that the same permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only when the finger is in said locking engagement with the bolt; and a second rotary lock supported by the casing, arranged to be operated by any one of a severalty of individually identified loose keys, and having operative connection with the bolt for sliding the latter into and out of its keeper-locking position, said last-named lock being formed with devices arranged to move in relative correspondence with the movement of said operative connection and which are characterized in that the same permit the keys to be inserted in and removed from the lock only when the bolt has been moved into its keeper-locking position.

3. In a community tool-stall, in combination: a casing providing a stall for the tool; a keeper carried by the casing and movable from an inoperative position permitting insertion of the tool into the stall to an operating position barring removal of the inserted tool from the stall; and an interlocking system of two rotary locks supported by the casing, one of vwhich is operated by a loose key and the other by a tool-carried key, said lock which is operated by the loose key having means movable in unison with the rotary movement of the lock arranged in one extreme of the locks turning movement to secure the keeper in the latters said operating position, and having means movable in relative correspondence with the movement of said keeper-securing means and operative to permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only upon the latter being so located as to place the keepersecuring means in its securing operating position, the other of said locks, for interlocking with the first-named lock, having devices operable in unison with its own turning movement and movable into and out of a position whereat the same locks the first-named lock upon a location of such first-named lock in the other extreme of the latters turning movement, said last-named of the two rotary locks having means movable in relative correspondence with said interlocking devices and which acts to permit the related key to be insliding bolt: a rotary key-operated lock supported to locate its axis in laterally o-set relation to the bolt and having a radial finger movable in unison with the rotary movement of the lock and operatively interengaging the bolt for sliding the latter in reciprocatory movement, said lock having means movable in relative correspondence With the movement of the iinger and operative to permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only upon positioning the nger to locate the bolt at one extreme of the latters reciprocatory travel; and a second rotary key-operated lock supported to locate its axis in laterally oir-set paralleling relation to the bolt and having a radial nger movable in unison with the rotary movement of the lock arranged to be moved from a normally inoperative position into locking engagement with the bolt upon a positioning of the latter at the opposite extreme of its reciprocatory travel, said second-named lock having means movable in relative correspondence With the movement of the related linger and operative to permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only upon a location of the finger in the bolt-locking position.

5. In a community too1-stall, in combination: a casing providing a stall for the tool; a keeper carried by the casing and movable from an inoperative position permitting insertion of the tool into the stall to an operating position barring removal of the inserted tool from the stall; a locking element for the keeper arranged to be moved from an inactive into an operating position Whereat, upon locating the keeper in the latters said operating position, the keeper is locked against movement; a lock supported by the casing, arranged to be operated by a loose key, and having connection with the locking element for moving the latter by the instrumentality of the key into and out of said locking elements locking position, said lock being formed with means movable relatively in correspondence with the movement of the locking element to permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only upon a positioning of the lock such that the locking element occupies its said locking position; and a second lock supported by the casing, arranged to be operated by a tool-carried key, and having means movable through the instrumentality of the key from a normally inoperative position into interlocking engagement with the locking element of the rst-named lock only upon locating such locking element in a position inoperative to the keeper, said last-named lock having means movable relatively in correspondence with said interlocking means and 0perate to permit the key to be inserted in and removed from the lock only upon locating the interlocking means in its interlocking position. FRANK W. JOHNSON. 

